In 2007, Bioware and Microsoft Studios introduced the world to the sprawling science-fiction universe of Mass Effect, a vast, story-driven action/RPG. In 2010, Bioware brought us the much anticipated sequel with the aid of publishing behemoth Electronic Arts. Mass Effect 2 was a much leaner, more action-focused experience, stripping out many of the dense RPG mechanics in favor of streamlining the cover-based action mechanics. The constant in the Mass Effect series, however, has always been a notable attention to detail in the story, lore, and character; something Bioware has been known for as a studio for quite some time. Just this past week, Bioware and EA released the final game in their epic space-faring action/RPG trilogy, Mass Effect 3. Does it go out in a blaze of glory, or retreat disappointingly into the darkness?

With the release of Mass Effect 3 just around the corner, I’ve gotten the opportunity to get my filthy mitts on the ME3 demo. My early impressions of the demo? Disappointment. Maybe I’m old school, but I used to think that the next game in a series is supposed to provide something, well…different.

Mass Effect 3, so far, feels like the exact same game as Mass Effect 2. I was never really a fan of the combat/action portions of the game. The reason I play it is for the story. For the record, I thought ME2 was a disappointment. It seemed like the game developers “dumbed down” the RPG elements of the game, and it seems that trend continues in ME3. With that said, let’s get right into the demo.

Remember those days when you were a kid where you were counting the days until that one particular video game hit store shelves? Where you couldn’t wait for the school bells to ring so you could jet over to the game store and cash in all your lunch money for that new shiny game? As we grow older (and admittedly more cynical) those peak moments of anticipation grow fewer and farther between. Well, after playing the game at E3 and wasting way too much time playing the beta this past september, I found that Battlefield 3 was that game that would bring me back to my childhood-like days of impatience. I raced out to my game store of choice after work and picked it up, gathered some friends around the TV (after eating some delicious steak sandwiches) and fired up the game. Too bad the online servers didn’t work – at all.

Now, I want to give a general review, since most of the technical topics if I were to discuss would go over most dumbshits normal people’s heads. Here’s some back story so you know what I’m talking about. If you know the game jump down a few paragraphs.

Unless you’re a PC gamer you’ve probably never heard of Crysis, Crytek’s 2007 blockbuster. This game was a breath of fresh air in a room full decaying EA titles and shitty sports games. It was incredibly hard not to be impressed by game play screens. I was left wondering how they could pull it off: ultra real visuals and fun game play? Impossible!